about
The California Nature Art Museum uses art to educate and inspire people to better understand and care for our dwindling natural and wilderness areas. The California Nature Art Museum is a 501(c)(3) and our Federal Tax ID number is 77-0470520. We have a small staff of 2 full-time and 4 part-time, augmented by a dedicated and enthusiastic group of volunteers of about 35.
The California Nature Art Museum’s mission is to inspire our community and visitors to enjoy, value, and conserve wildlife and natural areas through art. We provide artistic, educational, and field experiences of nature for that purpose.
Our vision is to be recognized as an exceptional and innovative leader in inspiring our communities and visitors to value wilderness and other natural areas through the lenses of a diversity of artists. The museum strives to collaborate with others for the betterment of our communities.
The California Nature Art Museum Exhibition Space
Since we opened our doors in 2000, the California Nature Art Museum has hosted and/or organized over 65 exhibitions. We have shared the awe-inspiring works of giants like Ansel Adams, Georgia O’Keeffe, Maynard Dixon, Carl Oscar Borg, and so many more. Our exhibitions have surveyed the early history of wilderness art and showcased contemporary artists like Clyde Butcher, dedicated to bringing awareness to specific wilderness areas.
We moved our facility to Solvang in 2013 where our exhibition space has grown from 900 sq. ft. to over 2000! At any one time you can enjoy three to five different exhibitions and artists.
Our first floor gallery features our larger shows but can also be subdivided into different exhibitions. Our second floor gallery is now known as the Valley Oak Gallery and is dedicated to telling stories of our tri-county area (Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo). A permanent feature of the gallery is a marvelous wall mural executed by local artist John Iwerks. The mural is an excellent educational tool about our local oak habitats and is perfect for use by school groups (the museum does have lesson plans based on curriculum standards for several grade levels).
On the third floor our Barbara Goodall Education Center regularly features rotating community art shows by school groups, senior residence facilities, fellow art organizations, junior photography exhibitions and more. The nearby Overlook Gallery also features artworks from our permanent collection and selections from our library for the public to enjoy.
With a busy exhibition calendar, we rely on foundations and individuals like you to help support those expenses. Please consider sponsoring an exhibition or making a donation to our special Patti Jacquemain Exhibition Fund! Call 805-686-8216 for more information.
California Nature Art Museum Permanent Collection
Eleanor’s Plum Tree, Ray Strong. Wildling Museum
The California Nature Art Museum has a small, diverse and growing permanent collection of art. Nature photography is strongly represented and includes area artists Jeff Jones, Richard Salas, Ines Roberts, Tom Millea and Roger Craton. We also have several oil paintings by historic painter John Fery, an Austrian who emigrated to America in the 1860s and painted scenes small and grand of the American Western landscape. Other historic artists that are represented in the collection include Russell Chatham, Ray Strong, Lockwood de Forest and Everett Ruess. Click HERE to see more artworks in our collection.
California Nature Art Museum Sustainability Business Pledge & Policy
Adopted by Board Vote, 1/28/2021
Our institutional mission: The California Nature Art Museum’s mission is to inspire our community and visitors to enjoy, value, and conserve wildlife and natural areas through art. Given our focus on environmental conservation, the staff and board feel that it is important to express these values through its business practices and to serve as an example for others to join them in these efforts.
The California Nature Art Museum is committed to being environmentally responsible, will actively support efforts that reduce our company’s environmental impact and will seek to continually improve our environmental performance as an integral part of our business strategy and operating procedures. We seek to minimize the effects our business activities have on the environment by supporting initiatives such as:
Reduce material, water and energy consumption
Minimize waste
Recycle eligible resources
Given our institutional mission, we will also encourage our customers, supporters, suppliers and other stakeholders to do the same. We recognize that we have a responsibility to the environment to meet or exceed legislative and regulatory requirements. We will ensure that this policy and all procedures relating to it are understood, implemented and maintained by all company employees.
Specific Actions:
The California Nature Art Museum pledges to commit to the California Green Business program and go through recertification efforts as required to remain an active member of the program.
The California Nature Art Museum will make every effort to make environmentally responsible choices in all facets of its operations: building maintenance routines, office supply purchases, event management, museum store procedures and supplies, and exhibition and program supplies.
We will encourage the staff to carpool to events and meetings whenever possible, preferably using an electric or hybrid vehicle.
We will encourage full-time staff (if feasible for their specific responsibilities) to telecommute 1-2 days/week at home in order to reduce carbon emissions and fossil fuel consumption.
The California Nature Art Museum has installed solar panels on its roof (in 2020) and will purchase additional power from the greenest sources possible.
We will promote our sustainable practices to our museum guests, in the hopes of inspiring them to implement similar measures at home.
We understand the reality of climate change and will be an active voice for community efforts to implement any measures to reduce fossil fuel dependence, expand renewable resource development and further educate our community about the urgency of environmental sustainability and stewardship.
We will frequently offer “upcycled” art classes/programs and try to reuse materials as supplies as much as is feasible.
We will frequently highlight art and artists that engage in environmental topics.